The news reports have been particularly dark and sad these past days. And so it was heartwarming to meet a charming Montreal actor named Laurent Imbault, who believes so deeply that the world needs more positive news that he dug into his own pockets to establish a website featuring only good news and inspiring stories.

GoodnessTv (goodnesstv.org) is dedicated to positive news and social commitment, as he explained; its mission is to give a voice to people working to make the world a better place – and to call on the rest of us to do our part.

In December, GoodnessTv launched a weekly web series, the Positive Minute (minute.goodnesstv.org): a 60-second feature posted to the site each Monday to highlight the actions of local individuals or organizations doing good work in domains ranging from social to cultural to humanitarian.

The first focused on le Papillon Blanc (lepapillonblanc.org), a not-for-profit Quebec organization in which professional dancers reach out to people who are frail and those nearing the end of their lives, often in nursing homes. They connect with them through dance and movement, creating an intimate space in which they communicate wordlessly. It’s beautiful to watch.

Another episode is about what’s known as the suspended coffee movement: You buy a cup of coffee, or a sandwich or a bowl of soup at a participating café or restaurant – and, at the same time, you buy one intended for someone who can’t afford to pay for it. The feature was filmed at the Rosemont-Petite-Patrie restaurant Ô Deux Soeurs, the first Montreal establishment to join the movement. About 15 others across the province have signed on since.

The Positive Minute goes beyond informing viewers to ask something of them: that they become involved – by paying for a dance visit for someone else, for instance, or visiting someone in a long-term care facility or giving food to a person in need or doing something of their own choosing that makes a difference.

“The thing about the minute is that it is a call to action,” Imbault said. “It ends with something you yourself can change.”

He himself appears in each Positive Minute: He’s the guy calling to pay for a dance visit for someone, the fellow buying two coffees at Ô Deux Soeurs.

Viewers are encouraged to share their action on Facebook or Twitter – to inspire others in their circle to get involved as well. The tagline for the initiative is “Together we can change the world.”

And Imbault, 66, says he has always wanted to change the world.

The married father of three has been an actor for more than 30 years and allows that he has had “a fairly successful career acting.” His television roles included an eight-year stint during the 1990s on the series Watatatow, he has appeared in films and on stage and been in more than 100 television and radio commercials.

He has also done all kinds of things unrelated to acting: started an agency for professional actors who work without agents, for one, designed and managed several websites, and renovated houses with his own hands.

“And GoodnessTv is allowing me to leave a legacy,” he said. “When I reached 60, I realized that this project is the culmination of all my talent.”

The project is, to him, “an artistic creation … Every video is a colour in the tapestry,” Imbault said in an interview at the offices of GoodnessTv, located in a Plateau Mont-Royal flat he owns. Indeed, the organization is financed almost entirely by Imbault.

Although a few donations have come in, “mostly it all comes from me,” he said. “Let’s say I’m a poor philanthropist.”

Globalia, the web service provider for GoodnessTv, made the project possible, Imbault said, and continues to invest considerable time and energy in developing the platform. Nearly all its work is pro bono.

Dozens of volunteers, including university students from here and abroad, have contributed their talent and continue to. Emploi-Québec funded two positions until recently; now it funds just one.

Imbault is looking for partners to help the organization to develop and reach a broader audience. Projects on the books include an inspirational series, Changing the World; Transcontinental has agreed to be the media partner, but corporate financing is needed.

GoodnessTv, established in 2009, was inspired in part by a conversation with Imbault’s ninetysomething mother in which she told him that all the bad news she was hearing made her feel hopeless and glum.

“Then while driving, I started to listen to the news, and I said, ‘my God, she is right.’ How much of this is of any concern to me and what can I do?”

The site, co-founded with his wife, Katherine Adams, “vice-president (or should I say vice-dreamer) of GoodnessTv,” features 8,000 videos in 21 languages – including about 50 produced in Montreal. “We want to give you another view of the world – a world of solidarity, a world of sharing, a world of emotions,” Imbault says in a brief explanatory video. After inviting people to upload videos about good news, at no charge, he signs off: “And may the world be a little better for it.”

Other online good news-style initiative exist, including the Good News Network (goodnewsnetwork.org) in the United States. Testimonials include one from Tal Ben-Shahar, known for his work in the area of positive psychology. He writes: “Positive information benefits us emotionally, physically, and mentally. It can contribute in a meaningful way to a happier and healthier life.”

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